The New Britain Incident
by ElliotJA
Summary: A distress call brings the Enterprise to a remote, isolated world. When Kirk leads a landing party, no one can fully anticipate the grisly nightmare that awaits them on the surface...
1. Chapter 1

_**This story occurs in 2269, after the end of the third season of**_ **Star Trek: The Original Series** _ **, and prior to the start of**_ **The Animated Series.**

 _Captain's log, stardate 6043.2. The_ Enterprise _has arrived at the third planet of the Alpha Omaris system in response to a plea for help._

Sitting in his command chair on the bridge of the USS _Enterprise_ , Captain James T. Kirk contemplated the image on the main viewer of Alpha Omaris III as the starship entered orbit of the planet. It seemed a fairly typical Class M world: Large blue oceans, brown-green landmasses, white clouds and ice-caps. "Lt. Uhura, replay the message we received," he said to the communications officer.

A second later, a frantic voice issued from the speaker: " _To any vessels, this is Captain Matthias Cronin of the commercial ship_ Athos. _I am on planet Alpha Omaris III, and need immediate help! Am in extreme danger! Please, someone, help me now! Help -_ " The message abruptly cut off then, leaving only silence. So it had been for the last two hours.

Kirk rose from his chair and approached the science station. "Well, Spock, what do we know about this planet?"

The Vulcan science officer was peering into the scope mounted on the console, the light from the small screen castig his normally faintly greenish features in a blue shade, as he replied "Alpha Omaris III is the site of the New Britain colony, established one hundred and twenty-five years ago. The colony was heavily attacked during the Romulan War, and following the end of the conflict, sealed itself off from the Federation, wishing to have as little as possible to with the interstellar community. There has been no contact with the colony in ninety-three years. However, I am reading large numbers of lifeforms in what appear to be small urban areas scattered across the small islands of the northern hemisphere. Power readings are minimal, but I am also detecting a vessel of modern manufacture on the surface."

"Uhura, try hailing the planet," Kirk ordered, looking back to the viewscreen.

"Aye, sir," Uhura responded, manipulating the controls on her board. A moment later though, she gave Kkirk an apologetic look. "Sorry, captain, no response."

"Looks like we'll have to beam down," Kirk murmured.

"Caution is advised, captain," Spock said, looking at Kirk. "Sensors indicate an approaching ion storm. It will pose no danger to vessels, but may severely disrupt transporters and comunications."

Kirk considered his options for a moment, then announced "We'll take a shuttlecraft down. Spock, you're with me. Uhura, contact Doctor McCoy and have him meet us on the hanger deck, and inform Mister Scott that he has the conn."

OOOOOOOO

The quiet stillness of the air on Alpha Omaris III was suddenly disrupted by a sound uncommon in that area: The steady droning of the engines of a Starfleet shuttlecraft as it descended from the sky and made a gentle landing on the grassy ground within a patch of trees on a wide expanse of moorland. Within a minute of the craft settling down and the engine cutting off, a door had slid open in its' side and from it three figures emerged to set foot on the heather. Captain Kirk, flanked on either side by Leonard McCoy and Spock, stood and peered between the trees until his eyes saw the slight gleam of the top of a spacecraft's hull protruding from the bottom of the hill they were on. "Alright, gentlemen, let's go," he said, gesturing for them to follow him.

A cold wind had begun to blow across the moorland as the three men made theirway down the hillside, penetrating sharply through the thin material of their uniforms. Not for the first time, Kirk and McCoy missed the grey jackets that Starfleet had withdrawn a decade earlier; they would have been added comfort in this weather. "Lord, this place is bleak," McCoy observed, surveying the landscape with its grassy slopes and clumps of thickets beneath a leaden sky. "Kinda reminds of parts of northern England."

"No doubt, doctor, such resemblances are among the factors that initially drew the first colonists here," Spock remarked. "Many of them did hail from such parts of northern Britain as Lancashire and Yorkshire."

"I imagine it's not too unpleasant in the right season," Kirk said, shivering slightly against the cold. "Scotty would no doubt be reminded of parts of his native Scotland here." A minute later they had reached the ship, a fairly standard and unremarkable type. They instantly noticed the hatch in the side was open, the interior dark.

Spock activated his tricorder hanging from a loop over his shoulder and checked the readings. "There are no lifeforms on board, captain," he reported after a few seconds.

Kirk looked up at the ramp into the darkness. "Which means it's either deserted, or the crew is..." He did not finish voicing the unpleasant thought. At his gesture, Spock and McCcoy accompanied him up the ramp and into the vessel.


	2. Chapter 2

A search of the craft did not take long. Of the six crewmembers, none were onboard. "Perhaps they're at one of the settlements on this planet?" McCoy suggested as he, Kirk and Spock stood on the small, darkened bridge.

"Spock, did our instruments detect any settlements nearby?" Kirk asked his science officer.

Spock gave a slight nod. "Affirmative. The nearest semi-urban conglomeration is located approximately one and a half miles to the north-east."

"Well what're we waiting for?" McCoy asked. "Whatever trouble the crew of this ship are in could be getting worse. Even if they're not in the town, the people there may know where they've gone."

"It would seem the most...logical next course of action," Kirk replied. "I'll just try and contact the _Enterprise_ , let them know the situation." He drew his communicator from his belt and flipped the cover up. "Kirk to _Enterprise_. Kirk to _Enterprise_ , please come in." Only static answered him. "Must be the ion storm, blocking transmission," he muttered, flipping the communicator shut and reattaching it to his belt. "Well, as the good doctor says, what are we waiting for?"

The sun had sunk to just a thin slither of light on the horizon when they emerged from the ship and started down the ramp. A strong wind blew across the moors, and a light drizzle had begun to fall as McCoy grumbled "We now have an additional reason t oget to the settlement fast...to get somewhere warm and dry!"

Their path took them through a thickly wooded area. The great dark trees, nearly bare of leaves, reared up all around them in the deepening gloom as they slogged through mud and dead vegetation. They had not been walking long when Kirk noticed McCoy's expression had changed slightly; he seemed somehow edgier as he surveyed the rustling, shadowy woodland around them. "Anything wrong, Bones?" Kirk asked.

At the sound of Kirk's voice, McCoy started slightly, then smiled and gave a chuckle. "Sorry, Jim, guess I'm a little jumpy. It's these woods, this weather...it can get to a guy. So ominous..."

"A reaction I have observed before in humans in such circumstances, doctor," said Spock as he walked along, his tricorder held in front of him. "It is my opinion that - " His voice stopped suddenly, followed by his feet. "Captain, I am detecting a single human lifeform, directly ahead some twelve meters. It is not moving."

Kirk and McCoy squinted ahead, but could make out no human form in the gloom. "You think he's noticed us?" McCoy, stood at Kirk's side, whispered. "He must've heard us. Why doesn't he say anything?"

"Could be afraid," Kirk whispered back. He decided it was best to try a friendly approach. Taking a few careful steps forward, he called out "Hello. We mean you no harm. We would just like to talk." Seconds went by with no answer from the dark. Then Kirk thought he saw a very faint movement that was not a bush or branch, rustling and the snapping of twigs, growing fainter.

"It is rapidly retreating, captain," Spock said. "It would appear our presense was...unsettling."

"He's not the only one that's unsettled!" remarked McCoy.

Kirk looked ahead and sighed. "Hopefully, not everyone round here will be too afraid to talk to us." As they pressed on though, Kirk privately admitted to himself that he was beginning to share McCoy's vague unease.


	3. Chapter 3

The drizzle had intensified to a roaring, pounding avalanche of rain, and thunder rumbled from the black, boiling sky when, through the dripping and skeletal trees, the landing party saw the yellow gleam of lights. "Finally!" McCoy exclaimed, shivering in his soaked uniform. "I don't know how much more of this I can take!" Emerging from the treeline and crossing a muddy, puddle-strewn patch of ground, the three men came to a low wall of stone, beyond which stretched a number of low buildings, all constructed in the style of British country cottages. Lights shone in a few windows beneath thatched roofs.

As they strode through the entrance in the wall and down a winding lane between the rows of silent houses, Kirk still felt that vague apprehension experienced by McCoy earlier, and which had nagged at him since their encounter with the furtive figure in the wood. In fact, furtiveness was what their immediate surroundings seemed to subtly convey; secretive and quietly watchful. Looking at Spock, Kirk supposed the Vulcan would consider such feelings to be illogical, and tried to push them to the back of his mind and maintain a strictly professional outlook.

"Gentlemen, I think we've located the best place to look for answers," Kirk said as they turned a corner and saw, straight ahead through the driving rain, a fairly large building, its outer door open and leading into a small, lighted antechamber, a rectangular sign hanging from a pole set in the wall above.

"Undoubtedly an inn or tavern, captain," Spock observed. "I believe Mister Scott would refer to it as a 'pub.'"

As they walked to the entrance and stood in the antechamber, their ears picked up the distinct sounds of a number of people talking and laughing. Turning to his companions, Kirk whispered "Watch yourselves", before pushing open the inner door. If the exterior was evocative of an old British public house,the interior was even more so: Crowded along the walls beneath glowing lamps were rows of tables, some round and some square, all made either of grey metal or wood. Seated on chairs around the tables were groups of men, heavily muffled in large coats and hats and drinking liquid from metal cans, so engrossed in their conversations they did not even look up as the newcomers entered. Across a wooden floor covered by an old rug was a bar, with stools ranged along it, a few of them occupied by silent figures who showed only their backs. The wall on the other side was filled with a wide assortment of bottles. Another wall was dominated by a fireplace, flames leaping and crackling within.

They had just started walking across the room when they heard a muttered "Jesus!" The comment came from one of the customers, all of whom were now looking up from their drinks as the _Enterprise_ crew passed. The speaker was middle-aged, clumps of stubble covering his lower face, his right eye obscured by a milky cataract. His expression was suspicious and wary.

Seeking to be amiable, McCoy smiled and said "Hi!" No one responded, only continued to glare, particularly at Spock, whose alien features marked him strongly. He, of course, appeared totally unfazed by the looks he was getting.

As they reached the bar a door opened on the other side to admit a woman. Her brown hair, dashed through here and there with grey, was done up in a severe bun. Her face was broad and flat, lined with age, and tense with apprehension as she saw Kirk, Spock and McCoy. As she approached, eyeing them, Kirk said, in what he hoped was a reassuring manner "Good evening. I am Captain James Kirk of the Federation starship _Enterprise_. Our ship is in orbit of your planet. This is my science officer, Mister Spock, and my chief medical officer, Doctor McCoy." Two men sat at the bar hurriedly got up and strode to the exit as he finished speaking, shooting hostile glares at Kirk and his men as they disappeared outside.

"You from Federation?" the hostess asked, her voice thick, heavy and curiously slow. "What you be wanting here?"

"We're looking for some people," Kirk told her. "Captain Matthias Corbin and his crew. We've located their vessel, but not them. We were wondering if you could tell us anything."

It took the hostess a moment to respond. "They're gone. We don't know where...and it's nowt to do with us."

"Well, are you sure you haven't maybe heard anything?" McCoy asked.

The woman's beady eyes shifted to each of them. "No. We've nothing to say to any of your sort."

Stunned by the lack of amiability, Kirk quickly glanced at the nearby patrons, seeing the same hostility. "Sorry to have troubled you," he murmured as he started to turn to leave, recognizing a dead end when he saw it.

"Most unfriendly," Spock said quietly as he, Kirk and McCoy headed for the exit.

"I've met friendlier Klingons," whispered McCoy. They were just about to open the door and step outside when it was hurled open and in came a hugem burly figure of a man in a heavy coat, his head nearly covered by long, shaggy mop of hair. In his meaty hand he clutched a small, limp floor by the hair and dragged it roughly over the floor as he headed for the bar. "Godakes!" McCoy cried when he saw it was a young boy, his unconscious face covered with bruises and bloody cuts. Before Kirk or Spock could do anything, McCoy had rushed forward and grasped the big man by the arm.

"What you want?" the man sneered, glaring viciously at McCoy as he bent to examine the child.

"My God, man, what is this!" McCoy exclaimed as he straightened up. "This boy has been beaten half to death! He needs medical attention! He sure as hell doesn't need to be dragged around like some damn rag doll! What the hell's the matter with you!"

Spock took a step forward. "Doctor, your concern is understandable, but I strongly suggest you maintain calm."

McCoy's face twisted with indignance. "Dammit, Spock, I didn't ask for your emotional advice!"

"And we didn't ask for your interference!" the bar's hostess shouted from across the room.

"Doctor, we are leaving this building," Kirk told McCoy sternly. McCoy looked back down agonizingly at the boy slumped on the floor, then exchanged angry glares with the boy's father, before following Kirk and Spock outside. As they stood outside in the rainy night, Kirk stopped McCoy and said "Bones, I know just how you feel. But the situation back there was tense enough already. If we stayed longer, it could've gotten even uglier, and our main objective is finding the crew of the _Athos_."

McCoy did not look at Kirk as he grumbled "I'm not gonna forget what just happened, Jim."

Kirk placed his hand comfortingly on McCoy's shoulder and said "I'd be worried if you did." McCoy turned then and looked at Kirk, and briefly gave a small smile, silently ackowledging that Kirk was right.

The heavy rain had relaxed to a few spits as they resumed walking through the dark town. They turned a corner to find themselves in what must be the town square...and halted dead in their tracks as they saw, swaying on ropes tied to the branches of a tree in the middle of the square, the bodies of three men. Next to the tree was an old-fashioned horse-drawn cart, onto which two men had already loaded another three bodies.


	4. Chapter 4

No sooner had the _Enterprise_ crew happened upon the alarming scene than the men at the cart, alerted by some sound, whirled to see their observers and, muttering oaths, began grabbing for the rifles strapped to their backs. "Phasers on stun," Kirk ordered, he, Spock and McCoy drawing their weapons in the nick of time. Beams of screeching light shot out from their phasers, and their would-be assailants instantly dropped unconscious on the wet ground.

Keeping their phasers drawn in case of more trouble, they ran over to the cart. "The crew of the _Athos_ , captain," Spock observed aloud as they looked at the bodies on the cart and those still dangling limply from the tree.

McCoy's face was blanched. "These people haven't just been hanged - they've been tortured! Dear God, Jim, what kind of nightmare is this!"

Kirk's features were grim as he looked at the mutilated corpses. He had encountered death too often in the past; it was always ugly, but this kind of savage barbarism..."This changes everything," he said. "Federation citizens have been murdered...and those responsible must answer for it, one way or another."

The night was suddenly disrupted by a loud crack as a section of the cart near them disintegrated instantaneously. Recognizing a blast from a primitive - but nonetheless deadly - gun, the men dashed round to the other side of the cart for cover, as more shots burst out, narrowly missing them. Peering into the darkness, they saw seven shadowy forms advancing on them, their faces intermitantly illuminated by the blasts from the weapons they carried. Again the phasers of the landing party emited beams of light. Those the beams touched collapsed; the remainder fled yelling in panic and fury. "In my opinion," Spock said, "it would be overly optimistic to assume the villagers will remain discouraged for very long. Finding some safe harbour would be advantageous at this time."

"Agreed, Spock," Kirk responded, "but where is safe around here?"

"Hey!" a voice called out behind them. They spun round, phasers ready, to see a single figure stood a few feet away, his features concealed by a hood. "Come with me," he told them. "I'll protect you. Please, you have to trust me!"

Kirk looked at Spock and McCoy, seeking their opinions. "It's the friendliest offer we've had yet, Jim,"said McCoy. "I say we risk it."

With that, Kirk turned to the man. "Alright...where do we go?"


	5. Chapter 5

"You should be safe here for a little while," the man said to Kirk, Spock and McCoy as he closed the door of the cottage behind them, leading them down a short, darkened hallway and through a side door into the front room. As he switched on a small lamp, the _Enterprise_ crew saw by the light that the room was simply furnished, with a few slightly old-looking plush armchairs arranged around an equally old-looking coffee table. The wallpaper was faded and peeling in places. On the mantlepiece above the fireplace sat an antique clock and a few framed pictures. Looking at it, Kirk felt it would have seemed quaintly cosy, were the overall situation not so alarming.

Walking over to their benefactor, who was peeling off his coat and hanging it on a hook on the wall, Kirk said "I want to thank you for helping us out there."

The man looked briefly at Kirk before going over to the fireplace. "You're welcome," he said as he grabbed a box of matches and knelt down. "You may as well make yourselves as comfortable as you can. I imagine you space lot aren't very used to this sort of thing."

"What's your name, friend?" asked McCoy as he sat down in one of the armchairs.

Without looking up, their host responded "My name's Benjy. It's just me and my mum live here. She's upstairs, in bed. Hope she's not disturbed. She's very poorly." By now he had kindled a small fire, and its warmth was already starting to spread through the room. "I saw you come into the village," Benjy continued, "but you didn't see me. I should've warned you then...I'm sorry..."

"We would like some answers as to exactly what's going on here," Kirk said as gently as he could.

"Yes," Spock, stood nearby, added. "Why were the crew of the _Athos_ killed?"

Benjy's voice was little more than a hoarse whisper as he looked into the flames. "People round here...they don't like offworlders...anyone from outside...aliens. Suppose it started when the colony closed itself off; the fear's been growing. Become...hate."

"Paranoia," remarked Spock. "An irrational dislike of anything not of this world. Illogical in the extreme."

"So when the _Athos_ landed here," McCoy said, "the villagers turned on them, just because they were...outsiders?"

Benjy's voice quaked slightly. "They said their ship had some kind of fault, they need to land to fix it. They were the first offworlders here in as long as anyone could remember. They didn't hurt anyone, but..." He sobbed then, and covered his eyes with a hand. "I was too scared to help them. When I saw you, I couldn't let it happen again...I had to do something." There was sadness in Kirk's face as he listened, and anger too. There was also admiration, for this poor individual who had found the courage to do something noble. Benjy straightened up then and said "I'd best just go and check on Mum. Be right back." He walked out of the room, and the three men heard his feet on the stairs.

McCoy looked gravely at Kirk. "Jim, the villagers could kill him if they find out he's protecting us."

Kirk nodded. "If we can contact the _Enterprise_ , we can be out of here before anyone comes looking."

"Assuming the transporters are operating," Spock pointed out. A quick use of their communicators revealed the effects of the ion storm still prevented them contacting the _Enterprise._

When Benjy returned a few minutes later, Kirk rose and approached him. "Benjy, we're grateful for what you've done, but we cannot allow our presense here to endanger the lives of yourself and your mother. We have a small vessel located not far away, on the other side of the woods. We have to try and get to it and back into orbit."

Benjy sighed, clearly worried. "You'll never make it past the villagers," he told them, "they'll all be looking for you, and you can't fight all of them off with those weapons of yours. Listen...it's a long shot, but I have a groundcar in the garage. It's old, not very fast, but I might be able to hide you in the back and drive you to where your ship is, or close enough."

Again, Kirk found himself deeply moved by Benjy's concern and desire to aid them, even though he placed himself at risk by doing so. He vowed to himself that, should he get back to the _Enterprise_ , he would make sure Benjy and his mother came to no harm.

OOOOOOOO

Benjy had told them to wait inside the house while he went outside to get the car out of the garage, and that he'd return for them in just a few minutes. That had been six minutes ago, and they were still waiting. "I don't like this," grumbled McCoy from where he sat.

Standing by the fireplace, Kirk had to agree. "I'll go see if he's alright," he said, starting for the hallway while checking the power supply on his phaser.

"I will accompany you, captain," said Spock. Kirk had just stepped through the doorway into the hall, when a blunt object lunged out of the dark and impacted violently into his face. As he tumbled backwards onto the floor, his vision swirling and dimming, he heard McCoy shout, and then more shouting, loud and ugly, followed by gunshots. He briefly saw a brutal, hate-twisted face leering down at him, before it shrank into inky blackness.


	6. Chapter 6

With the stirrings of consciousness, Kirk felt a hand on his shoulder, and heard McCoy's voice: "Easy does it now, Jim. Take it slow."

Kirk winced slightly as his brain registered the dull pain radiating from the middle of his face. His senses perceived that he was lying down with his bck against a hard, rough surface. Gingerly he raised himself up on his elbows, his vision still blurred. In seconds his sight had cleared enough that he was able to see McCoy's face looking with conern at him. "Bones..." he groaned.

"Welcome back, Jim," said McCoy, "though I'm sorry to say, our situation hasn't exactly improved." Slowly swinging his feet over the side of the wooden bench he had been lying on and placing them on the floor, Kirk now saw Spock standing behind McCoy and looking down at him. Behind the Vulcan was a stone wall with a sturdy-looking door set in it. The only light came from a small lamp hanging from the ceiling above them.

"What...happened?" Kirk gasped.

"The villagers attacked the house," Spock told him. "After you were rendered unconscious, so were myself and Dr McCoy, and our weapons and equiptment were taken. We awoke in this chamber a short time ago."

"They busted your face pretty bad," said McCcoy. "Nose is broken in a few places, some trauma. It was the butt of a rifle they hit you with. Nothing serious, but it'll hurt a while. Without my medkit, there's not much I can do."

Kirk sighed in pain, grasping his face. "Scotty must be getting concerned by now...Perhaps he'll send down a search party..." He jerked suddenly as a thought occured to him. "What about Benjy?"

McCoy's expression got grimmer as he responded "Better see for yourself," moving out of the way so Kirk could now see Benjy lying unconscious on another bench. One of his eyes was heavily bruised, swollen shut; dried blood was on his scalp, below his nose and the corner of his mouth. He rasped painfully in his stupor. "He has a few cracked ribs too," McCoy said as Kirk got up and went over to where Benjy lay. "Dammit, if they hadn't taken our equiptment, I could do something for him. Or better yet, if we could get back to the _Enterprise_!"

Filled with guilt for having brought this on Benjy, and loathing for their captors, Kirk forced himself to look away from Benjy's battered form. "We know of their hatred for...outsiders," he said. "Why then didn't they kill us earlier...unless..."

Spock finished his thought for him: "Unless they have plans for us." The three men looked at one another and remembered the mutilated corpses of the _Athos_ crew dangling from the tree in the village square.

They tensed then as from the door came the rattle and clank of a key being turned in the lock. As it swung open, two men entered, one of whom they recognized as the man from the inn who had dragged in the beaten child. Both men smirked as they pointed rifles at the _Enterprise_ officers. "Outside," one of them spat through stained, crooked teeth, "now! Don't try nothing." His eyes narrowed at Spock. "'Specially you, alien."

The other man chuckled when he noticed Kirk's concerned glance at Bbenjy, still unconscious on the bench. "You friend'll get what's coming to him soon enough!"

As Kirk, Spock and McCoy steped out of the room, they saw two more armed men waiting for them in the corridor, which they were now lead down. Walking along, rifles close at their backs, they became aware of the sound of a large number of people close by, getting nearer. Finally, they were shoved through another door and found themselves in the open air. Despite all that had happened, Kirk was still amazed and disgusted by what he saw.

It was like a festival, a grisly celebration. All through the streets, in the pre-dawn light, groups of people sang and danced in merry abandonment. Some played musical instruments as they skipped along beside them. From somewhere nearby, fireworks shot into the sky. And beneath the gaity lurked twisted menace and horror. "My God, Jim," McCoy shuddered, "how far these people have degenerated." Even as he spoke, a man rushed towards Spock and smashed an empty bottle over his head, eliciting shrieks of laughter from onlookers and causing Spock to stumble slightly. Kirk made a move for the man who had hurt his friend, only to be pushed back by his guards.

"Spock...are you alright?" Kirk asked.

"I have suffered...minor damage only, captain," answered Spock as he swayed a little on his feet. "I fear we are all about to suffer much worse." Just ahead now, surrounded by throngs who parted at their approach, stood the tree which was to be the place of their deaths. In moments they stood inches from the nooses and stools prepared for them.

"This is our world!" a white-haired old man with crazed eyes stood nearby shouted. "No offworlders...no aliens!" With that he ran up to Kirk and spat full in his face, and the crows roared in amusement. Kirk did not give them the satisfaction of any kind of reaction.

That was when all three men heard a sound they knew well, and which brought them a ray of hope: The whine of phaser fire. Alarmed cries broke out from the crowd then and people began fleeing in panic, trampling one another, and Kirk grinned as he spotted the bright red-shirted forms of _Enterprise_ security personnel advancing forward, felling their attackers with blasts from their phasers. A few villagers fired back with their rifles, but they were little match for two dozen trained Starfleet men.

"Cap'n! Mr Spock! Dr McCoy!" a voice with a Scottish accent called out, and they saw Commander Scott rushing over, smiling in relief at having found them.

"Scotty, you are like an angel descended from heaven!" McCoy said, grinning as he slapped the engineer on the shoulder.

"Aye, well, I knew ye had to be in some bother," Scotty replied. "Not long ago, the ion storm cleared up enough to use communicators and transporters...only we still couldn't raise you! But we were able to intercept a transmission sent from the shuttle. It turns out some of the locals had stumbled on it and were fooling around with the systems. We locked onto 'em and transported 'em up...and let me tell you, sir, they were none too pleased at being beamed onto a starship!"

Despite the pain and fatique he felt, Kirk chuckled. "No, I bet they weren't, Scotty! Good job. Now, we could definitely use some medical attention...and there's someone else nearby in need of help."

OOOOOOOO

Kirk entered the _Enterprise_ sickbay a short while later, still aching a little but rested, to be met by McCoy. "I see neither of us is letting our recent ordeal get in the way of our duties, Bones," he said with a smile. "How are our patients?"

"I got to them in time, Jim," McCoy told him. "In fact, one of them is awake and has been asking to see you." He turned and lead Kirk into the adjacent chamber where two of the biobeds were occupied, one by an old woman fast asleep, the other by Benjy, who lifted himself up with a grunt when he saw Kirk.

"It's good to see you," he said.

"Likewise," Kirk responded, walking over to Benjy's bed. "How are you feeling?"

Benjy gave a slight wince. "I still hurt, but not so bad after that stuff Dr McCoy gave me." He nodded towards the sleeping woman. "Thanks for bringing Mum here too."

"You'll be pleased to knoe she'll soon feel better than she has in years," said McCoy, stood at Kirk's side, "thanks to modern Federation medical science."

"I still can't quite believe it," Benjy said, "I'm actually in space, on a starship!" A concerned expression passed over his face then. "What's gonna happen to me and Mum though? And the rest of the people on the colony?"

"We've been in touch with Starfleet Command," said Kirk. "They're sending help. The people of New Britain will have to answer to the Federation for their crimes. But as for you and your mother...How would you like to see something of the galaxy?"

It took a moment, but the smile that appeared on Benjy's face was real, and hopeful. "You know something, captain...I think our lives could do with a change."


End file.
